Of the dozens of reports of insanity nationwide, special credit goes to the mother in Atlanta who left her two infants locked in the car so she could join the holiday fun.

I’d like to say it’s all the shoppers’ fault, mainly because it is. But somewhere at Nike headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, the marketing team must have been toasting its latest feat.

Here we thought that capitalist Michael Jordan might have lost some of his appeal during the NBA lockout. Sneakerheads don’t care that MJ was such a hard-line owner a few NBA players swore off Air Jordans.

They just knew Nike was releasing the 9,492nd version of his shoe, give or take a few million counterfeits. And they simply had to have a pair come hell, high water, police, ambulances or the Department of Family and Protective Services.

“We are extremely concerned to hear of the reported crowd incidents around the launch of the Air Jordans XI at some select retail locations,” said a Nike statement. “Consumer safety and security is of paramount importance. We encourage anyone wishing to purchase our product to do so in a respectful and safe manner.”

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If it was that concerned, Nike could do more about it than put out a statement saying how concerned it is. Its strategy has always been to release “Limited Edition” shoes, meaning there was about one pair for every 10 people elbowing in line on Friday.

I’m not a shoe manufacturer, but my guess is it wouldn’t have been that hard to increase the holiday work force in Nike’s Asian villages. Spend that extra 69 cents an hour, crank out a bunch more $180 shoes and everybody has a Merry Christmas, right?

Say what you will about Nike, there’s no denying its marketing brilliance. It introduced Air Jordans when parachute pants were hot. The model for the flying silhouette logo retired almost a decade ago.

Jordan’s was a flat-footed GM. His ownership of the Bobcats looks like something Donald Sterling would wear. Yet the Retro XIs with the patent leather and translucent soles are creating more looniness than ever.

From a business standpoint you have to applaud The Swoosh and its willingness to exploit consumer insanity. I’d be a hypocrite not to.

I bought the original red-and-black canvas model in 1985. I don’t remember what I paid, but the only reason I bought them was my basketball shoes were shot.

A few hundred pickup games later, the Air Jordans were worn out. I threw them in the closet, then the fad took off.

Twenty years later I put them on eBay for grins. Some guy in Japan bid $500.

Sold! And no children were trampled in the process.

From a “Consumer safety and security is of paramount importance” standpoint, you have to laugh at Nike. It doesn’t want anyone killed or mangled in the pursuit of footwear, but it knows all the reports of pandemonium help create a massive buzz.

“Nike always has a limited allocation,” John Horan, publisher of the marketing research company Sporting Goods Intelligence, told the Indianapolis Star. “They could sell 10 times as many shoes as they do in the first week, but this gets them pent-up demand.”

If Nike really wanted peace during the holiday season, it wouldn’t manipulate the marketplace. It would have enough shoes to go around. It could sell them online, where Sneakerheads could only punch their computer screens in their buying frenzy.

Failing that, I’d like to see a few Nike executives forced to stand in line when the next Air Jordans are rolled out. His Airness himself should have to put on a disguise and join them.

They created this monster. Maybe they’d try to tame it if the shoe were on the other foot.